Sir Keir Starmer criticised over tax free pension scheme

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has been accused of hypocrisy by Conservatives over a tax exempt pension deal he has from a previous job.

Sir Keir criticised measures in the Budget which scrapped the £1m cap on lifetime pensions savings.

The Telegraph reported Sir Keir got a special "tax unregistered" pension scheme when he stood down as Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) in 2013.

Labour says it was standard practice for retiring DPPs to get such a deal.

But senior Conservative MP Sir Iain Duncan Smith told The Telegraph it made a "mockery" of Labour's position on the lifetime pension allowance, and was as "close to hypocrisy as it is possible to get".

Tory MP Andrea Leadsom told the BBC's Politics Live it was an example of "extraordinary hypocrisy".

Sir Keir was the top public prosecutor in England and Wales between 2008 and 2013, before entering politics.

After standing down as Director of Public Prosecutions, he was granted a "tax-unregistered" pension scheme by an act of parliament.

The Pensions Increase (Pension Scheme for Keir Starmer QC) Regulations 2013, introduced through secondary legislation, means the lifetime allowance does not apply to his contributions from his time as DPP between 2008 and 2013.

The legislation means Sir Keir is exempt from paying tax on pensions savings over £1m. It is not clear whether the Labour leader has saved enough to have benefited from the scheme.

After last week's Budget, Labour pledged to reverse plans to introduce similar exemptions for high-earners if it wins power.

Sir Keir said the government's tax exempt scheme would only benefit the "richest 1%", and proved the government had the "wrong priorities".

He said a tax break should only be available to NHS doctors, to encourage them to keep working and not take early retirement.

Under the Budget plans, the £1.07m limit on how much individuals can put into their pension pot before having to pay extra tax will be scrapped.

The annual tax-free allowance on pensions will also increase from £40,000 to £60,000.

On Tuesday night, Labour MPs voted against the measure, saying it was the wrong priority at the wrong time.

A government source said: "Sir Keir is more than happy to tax experienced public servants into early retirement - and keep the benefit all to himself."

Labour has said the rules for Sir Keir's pension as DPP were set by the government at the time, which was headed by Conservative PM David Cameron.

A Labour spokesman said: "The rules for the DPP's pension are set by the government of the day, in this case the coalition government, and followed the precedent for all DPPs.

"Labour thinks it's wrong that the richest 1% get a tax break in the Budget which is why we voted against it."